Drug firm may have found formula for investor tonic

WATCH out this week for shares in Nuformix, the small drug developer listed on the main market.

The Cambridge-based company, which counts former Vectura chief executive Chris Blackwell as a director, is set to release the results of a pre-clinical trial for a drug it hopes will treat lung fibrosis, a debilitating condition for which there is currently no cure.

The company takes old drugs cast off by major pharmaceutical companies, works its magic (‘repurposes’ the drug to use the industry term) and then finds a new use for them. In this case, GlaxoSmithKline dumped the drug years ago after a trial flopped.

Nuformix is now developing the drug programme, called NXP002, to target lung fibrosis. In September, the company filed an extra patent for NXP002 so it can be used to treat other fibrotic conditions.

I understand the results of the trial, carried out with the help of Newcastle University using lung tissue from multiple patients, are set to be positive.

Stock watchers should keep an eye on the shares this week which could receive a nice booster from the news.

THE quarterly FTSE 100 reshuffle on Tuesday is more than likely to be a sad day for Royal Mail, which is set to get the boot from the blue-chip index.

It’ s hardly a seal of approval for chief executive Rico Back who has had a torrid start to his reign since arriving in his new post during the summer.

As for the FTSE 250, the AA is in the firing line for demotion after its share price fell by a quarter since September.

Coming in will be secret agent James Bond’ s favourite car maker Aston Martin.

Boss Andy Palmer had hoped it would enter the very top tier after floating in October but its shares stalled on its stock market debut.

THE scale of the housing market slump will be highlighted by builder Berkeley Group on Friday when it reveals first-half results that will be covered in red ink.

City scribblers reckon revenues could fall as much as 13 per cent to £1.4 billion, with pre-tax profits predicted to be down by a third to £356 million.

Being focused on upmarket properties and London, Berkeley has felt the strain more than most.

Cash due on forward sales could fall further to around £2 billion, having already slowed from £2.7 billion at the end of April 2017 to £2.2 billion a year later.